This week, dozens of individuals, businesses and non-profit groups participated in public hearings in Santa Clarita, Oxnard and Malibu to review the independent environmental analysis of BHP Billiton’s Cabrillo Port project conducted by the United States Coast Guard and the California State Lands Commission.
BHP Billiton has a positive track record of working with, and giving back to, local communities where we do business and our employees live and work. Our company policy is complete environmental transparency about our activities and initiatives and this project is no exception. We have been talking to, and meeting with, people and organizations from Malibu to Pt. Mugu and from Oxnard to Ojai for well over a year.
Cabrillo Port’s location 14 miles from the nearest shoreline is designed to avoid disruptions to onshore and offshore activities, while enhancing safety. The project will use proven, state-of-the-art technology to limit any significant impacts to our land, air and sea. The location of Cabrillo Port, more than 15 miles from Malibu’s closest landfall, was specifically chosen to ensure public safety and provide the smallest possible environmental footprint.
Unlike other projects-there will be no onshore storage tanks and the project will not in any way utilize or extend the life of offshore oil platforms. It will float well beyond international shipping channels so as not to disrupt maritime traffic or military operations at Point Mugu. It will also be more than 12 miles away from the Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary.
How will it work? Natural gas in its liquid form will be transported by ship to Cabrillo Port ‘s floating facility and converted back to gas while offshore. As natural gas, it will move onshore via pipelines, and then connect to Southern California Gas Company’s existing onshore pipeline distribution system in Oxnard where the Gas Company has been safely delivering natural gas to homes and businesses for decades.
The California Energy Commission and our federal and state governments confirm the increasing demand for natural gas and the decreasing availability of U.S. sourced supplies.
BHP Billiton designed Cabrillo Port to meet California’s energy needs without impacting Californian’s personal or environmental safety.
Steven Billiot
Vice President of BHP Billiton